AirAsia Passengers Can Use Mobile Phones In Flight From Early 2009

[Naim 6]

OH, NOOOOO!!!

 

June 20, 2007 21:57 PM

 

AirAsia Passengers Can Use Mobile Phones In Flight From Early 2009

 

KUALA LUMPUR, June 20 (Bernama) -- AirAsia passengers will be able to use their mobile phones and smartphones on board its Airbus A320 aircraft from early 2009, and the low cost carrier said today it will be the first in Asia to provide this service.

 

Besides making and receiving voice calls, passengers can also send and receive text messages and access email during flights, following a memorandum of understanding AirAsia signed with OnAir Switzerland Sarl at the Paris Air Show yesterday.

 

AirAsia's entire fleet of Airbus A320 aircraft will be fitted with the OnAir equipment, including aircraft currently flying and those on order from Airbus, it said.

 

A total of 150 aircraft will be equipped by 2013.

 

According to the statement, AirAsia X, the long haul low cost airline, has also signed a similar agreement for at least 15 Airbus A300-300 aircraft.

 

-- BERNAMA

[Ewan Shamsudin 0]

Oh God help us!

[Azuddin 1]

They better be real. Some rumor says that mobile phone is the actual cause that down United Flight 93.

 

Better to be safe then sorry.

[LW Wong 0]

do passengers need to pay RM 20 to use mobile phones? or 20 sen surcharge per min? kekeke

[Naim 6]

They better be real. Some rumor says that mobile phone is the actual cause that down United Flight 93.

 

Better to be safe then sorry.

 

They ain't kiddin', my friend.

 

June 20, 2007 14:48 PM

 

Airbus Gets Certification For On-board Mobile Phone System

 

 

KUALA LUMPUR, June 20 (Bernama) -- Airbus announced Wednesday it has become the first to receive airworthiness certification for a mobile phone system on board an aircraft.

 

The aircraft maker said in a statement that the European Aviation Safety System (EASA) approved Airbus' GSM on-board system on June 18, 2007.

 

It added that the EASA certification came after successful tests were carried out by the company earlier this year and confirmed the GSM on-board system's compatibility in the aircraft environment.

 

Airbus said with the approval, it has taken a major step towards enabling passengers to use their mobile phones and Blackberry-type devices during flights.

 

"They will be able to make and receive calls in addition to being able to send and receive e-mails and text messages," the company said.

 

-- BERNAMA

 

 

And from http://www.vnunet.com/computing/news/21924...ht-mobile-calls :

 

Green light for in-flight mobile calls

 

'I'm on a plane!' Air France, BMI and Ryanair will be the first to use the technology

Dave Friedlos, Computing 20 Jun 2007

 

 

Airline passengers will be able to make in-flight mobile phone calls later this year following the awarding of the safety certificate for airborne GSM equipment on planes.

 

The European Aviation Safety Authority has given the green light for the technology to be installed on planes following a series of delays in the last two years.

 

Air France will become the first airline to offer in-flight mobile service on an Airbus A318 next month. For the first three months, the service will be limited to emails and text messages before being expanded to include mobile phone calls.

 

BMI will become the first UK airline to offer the service on a single flight and low-cost carrier Ryanair will be the first to support calls across its fleet.

 

The technology has been developed by OnAir, a joint venture between Airbus and IT supplier Sita.

 

A picocell onboard the plane will pick up mobile phone signals via an antenna that runs along the length of the plane. The signal will then be converted, sent to a satellite and routed to the ground network.

 

‘This certification validates the integrity of the work that Airbus has done in developing and integrating technology from best of breed suppliers,’ said OnAir chief executive Benoit Debains.

 

Oh God help us!

 

Get your mp4/mp3 player with noise-cancellation headphones ready.

 

+++

[Azuddin 1]

Hopefully they(passengers) understand the difference between indoor and outdoor voice.

 

Maybe AK will have ear plugs listed in their in-flight sale catalog soon.

 

Azuddin

Edited June 20, 2007 by Azuddin

[Radzi 2]

As far as safety is concerned, I think it will be safe enough. But having your fellow passangers yakking into the phone is another matter. Then again, I'm sure there will be a charge involved, which will make the calls less lengthy.

[Ignatius 4]

Safety wise, I'm not concerned, but its gonna be annoying if I am on the last flight feeling sleepy and tries to get a good short nap but I can't because someone surely will be on the mobile talking bragging that he's calling at FL390. I believe issues will rise steeper than any rate of climb!! <_>

[Seth K 3]

I always thought the luxury/point of flying is the quiet moment in the air. Wonder how AK will make money from this.......

[Jessnor Arif 1]

Hmm even in express bus, the people will talk relative loud to overcome the noise from the bus' engine.

 

So imagine the how loud the people will speak to overcome the noise of CFM56-5B jet engine.

 

Hopefully MH won't follow this move.

[Rozhan 0]

This I don't like. Even people yakking in the LCCT Airbus shuttle get me extremely annoyed. It is about an hour's journey and perhaps some time to catch a nap, and then cellphones will start ringging and people talking loudly like as if others are interested to know what they are talking about.

 

Recently I tried the yellow coloured Aerobus. Less people, and no handphone. What a relief.

 

I would guess this new handphone service will have to be connected to the aircraft's network (not one's Maxis or Celcom or Digi network), and thus roaming charges apply.

[Naim 6]

I would guess this new handphone service will have to be connected to the aircraft's network (not one's Maxis or Celcom or Digi network), and thus roaming charges apply.

 

This one goes to a relay station onboard which hooks onto a satellite, which connects to the ground. It's gonna be pricey and I hope this will turn ppl off.

 

+++

 

[Kevin Teh 0]

How to make more money? offer cellphone service onboard!

[KK Lee 5]

 

The myth that using hand phone onboard is unsafe finally busted in Malaysia.

 

Not that I like fellow pax yelling to the handphone in a confined space; like many things in this country, we have been deceived for years. About time that Malaysians are updated with truth and technology.

 

 

[Hakan 2]

We read the same story in Turkish Airlines at last summer. I'm strongly against to use cell phone in planes! what ever they have do about protecting "flight security" , second and real problem is "disturbs"to other passangers during all flight with phone rings and noise speakings!!!.

 

[Jerry Ang 0]

I'm pretty confused here...what does it mean by "mobile phones"??

 

According to the Malaysian Civil Aviation Regulation (MCAR), Part 7, Regulation 70(2), it says, no passenger shall use any mobile phone or ... during flights on any Malaysian aircraft.

 

Does the DGCA exempt this case?? I juz wonder...

[KK Lee 5]

I'm pretty confused here...what does it mean by "mobile phones"??

 

According to the Malaysian Civil Aviation Regulation (MCAR), Part 7, Regulation 70(2), it says, no passenger shall use any mobile phone or ... during flights on any Malaysian aircraft.

 

Does the DGCA exempt this case?? I juz wonder...

 

 

Believe AK is fully aware of DCA regulation, AK must have obtained consent from DCA before they sign contract with the supplier.

 

Furthermore, TF is very influential in the local aviation industry, he won’t have much difficulty to get the regulation changed to his favour.

 

I just dislike them to have deceived us for many years! :angry:

 

[Tamizi Hj Tamby 1]

WHAT THE????

 

They're gonna be kidding about it !!!!!!!

[T Azahan 1]

Sometime in 2009......

 

"alo alo, edwin aaaaa, u at weather centre oredi aah??? i am on last row left window. AK Foxtrot Zulu. on final now. above PD. get ready to snap last window. i wave ok!!!"

[Louis L. 2]

actually for me the usage of cellphone inside an aircraft in the present actually do not pose any danger to the aircraft...just tat they don't want anything just in case to happen..but it is a gud thing tat we can use handphone inside the aircraft...but please...please make sure tat the mode is in silence coz even now tat cellphone usage is prohibited on ak plane...the cabin is very noisy since u noe la...most of the passenger are like **** ....making noise here and there...please please please.....i want to sleep!!!!!!!!

[adrianqcs 0]

I am more concerned about the mobile phone noise pollution on a long haul journey. Imagine that you will be able to sleep, the whole cabin is so noisy.

[Brennan Raj 0]

Gosh..

 

Looks like when the noise polution problems arises, they will separate the cabin to non-mobile and mobile. and ask for an extra 20 if you want a quiet flight.. <_>

[Sri Ramani K. 0]

i don't think many would be calling about...perhaps people would be more interested in SMSing since there isn't much excitement being on a plane for many..

Edited June 25, 2007 by Sri Ramani K.

[Seng Lim 0]

This latest article about OnAir (the same system which will be use by AK) definitely makes the whole picture clearer, afterall it's about how much is the charges and how many AK passengers willing to pay for the premium.

Connected at 30,000 feet

Adam Plowright

June 28, 2007 - 6:40PM

 

One of the last telephone-free environments on the planet, the airplane, is about to be connected, allowing travellers to make mobile phone calls at high altitude.

Requests to switch off mobile phones and fasten seatbelts are a familiar part of the takeoff routine for airline passengers, but a European company has found a way to make dialling safe and link up people from above the clouds.

"Cabin connectivity is here and GSM phone use is both a technical and commercial reality," chief commercial officer of OnAir, Graham Lake, said at the recent Paris Air Show.

His company, a joint venture between European plane maker Airbus and airline IT group Sita, has received a green light from the European Aviation Safety Agency to begin fitting equipment to commercial jets.

The technology is to be operated by an Air France plane for the first time in September this year and will then roll out across the world, with low-cost operators Ireland-based Ryanair and Malaysia's AirAsia some of the biggest clients.

"It's the first time anywhere in the world that a system has been authorised and confirmed for the safe operation of phones and BlackBerry-type devices on aircraft," Lake said.

The expansion timetable means European consumers will be the first to be able to use the technology with Air France, Ryanair, British low-cost BMI and Portugal's TAP.

Approval from a handful of national telecommunication regulators are the final hurdles, Lake said.

"What we are confident of now is that we'll have pan-European approval to operate before the end of 2007," he added.

Some companies in Southeast Asia and the Middle East are expected to begin installing the OnAir equipment in 2008, but the more complicated markets of Japan and the United States will have to wait until 2009.

AirAsia, which flies throughout Southeast Asia and is planning to launch longhaul services, is an early adopter and has signed a deal with OnAir to equip is new fleet of 150 Airbus A320s.

All planes are to be equipped by 2013, with the first connected aircraft serving routes in the next 18 months to two years.

"We firmly believe that offering our clients the ability to communicate during flight is vital in this era of information technology," said Kamarudin Meranun, deputy chief executive of the group.

Lake, however, acknowledges that the idea of mobile phones being used in the confined space of an airliner risks making talkative travellers a serious threat to peace.

"One wouldn't necessarily want to be sat next to someone who talked for the whole flight," he said. "But the cabin crew have control over the system. If an aircraft is flying overnight, they can decide to de-activate it for example."

The service can be shut down to prevent calls, or partially de-activated to allow only text messages or BlackBerry use.

For technical reasons, it will only be available above 3,000 metres, which is achieved four minutes after takeoff and maintained until 10 minutes before landing.

 

If a sense of consideration for fellow passengers does not promote respectful phone use, then the connection price is likely to compel all but the wealthiest travellers to make calls with moderation.

Lake believes the average price will be about $US2.50 ($A2.96) per minute for calls and about 50 US cents per SMS message.

The revenue will be split three ways between OnAir, the user's mobile phone operator and, crucially, the airline itself.

 

The contribution to the airline makes the idea of the technology particularly appealing to low-cost operators, whose businesses are based on generating cash from sources other than ticket sales.

"We think it will be very popular with low-cost airlines and the example of Ryanair taking the lead is very telling," said Lake. "What those airlines are looking for is ancillary revenues so they can drive their fares down and stay competitive."

An aerospace analyst for ratings agency Standard and Poor's, Leigh Bailey, believes there is a fine line to tread between offering the convenience of a mobile phone service and the inconvenience of the resulting noise.

"It offers potential ancillary revenues but on the other hand you have to balance this with the risk that it could annoy other travellers and could cause them to turn away from air travel," he said.

Lake believes that another two or three operators will enter the market to supply high-altitude telecom equipment in the coming years, meaning phone calls on planes could become commonplace.

He also had a surprising revelation: mobile phones are not really much of a danger for planes after all.

Research by OnAir shows that about 10 per cent of people forget to turn their phones off during flights, despite repeated warnings by cabin crew before takeoff.

"It is quite normal that people on airplanes forget to turn their phones off from time to time.

"If there was any profound safety issue associated with this then it would have manifested itself already."

 

AFP http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/talk-w...624070312.html#

[Pieter C. 5]

The revenue will be split three ways between OnAir, the user's mobile phone operator and, crucially, the airline itself.

 

Another 'milking cow' for AK, just like Express-Boarding